Calliteara fascelina (Linnaeus, 1758)

Host plants:The caterpillars are polyphagous. They feed on many Fabaceae such as brooms, sainfoin (Onobrychis), horseshoe vetch (Hippocrepis) and dwarf shrubs (Salix, Vaccinium, Calluna, etc.). The latter is the case especially in the Alpine region and on acidic heathland, such as in northern Germany.

Life cycle:Calliteara fascelina hibernates as a young caterpillar. The caterpillar is fully-grown in the lowlands around late May. The moths fly from June to early August. In the high mountains, the caterpillar will often (always?) hibernate twice. I found almost fully-grown larvae in the Silvretta area (west Austria) at 2300 meters above sea level in early and mid-June, just after the snow melts. On the Kanisfluh (Bregenzerwald, west Austria, 1700m asl), I found mature larvae together with small ones in May 2010. The eggs are laid mostly on thin stalks or stems and are loosely covered with female abdominal hairs as I observed several times on the Kanisfluh in July/August 2010.

Endangerment: strongly endangered

Endangerment factors:Calliteara fascelina is in very sharp decline in the lowlands and still survives especially in large heathlands, military training areas on sand and bogs. Populations in limestone grasslands have become very rare. In the (central) Alps above the treeline, the moth is still widespread and found regularly.

Remarks: Pupation takes place at least partly higher on stems and twigs as cocoon observations in dwarf shrubs in the Silvretta area indicate.

The overall distribution ranges from the Iberian Peninsula to East Asia (Amur region). In Europe, Calliteara fascelina is observed from Northern Scandinavia to Spain, Northern Italy and the northern Balkans.